Unaware that they had been seen, Emmeline and Matthew rode comfortably. They believed they would have hours between them before anyone knew that they had left and even then it would take even longer to find which way they had gone. She left a note on her bed stating that she refused to marry the older man and that she was heading West. For goodness sakes he was 20 some years her senior. She wanted to trick them into the wrong direction. Emmeline wanted to head South and then East, she wanted to head towards the water and see the ocean.
Emmeline leaned on Matthew's shoulder and wrapped herself more tightly in the blanket. This carriage was not as large as she was used to and it didn't have a hood. They were exposed to the elements. Emmeline didn't mind as she was with Matthew and there was nothing more that she wanted from life. A smile sprawled upon hr face. She was too excited to be tired and she was ecstatic to be traveling far away from Mr. Williams. She would never be a docile wife and she could never marry somebody that expected obedience from her.
The two had been traveling for about two hours when Emmeline's eyes began to droop and she started to nod off. Matthew looked over at his future wife and his heart beat and a warm sensation overwhelmed his body. He took one hand off the reigns and pulled the blanket up to keep her warm. He was tempted to tell her to go sleep in the back with the luggage, but he enjoyed her warmth on his shoulder.
In the middle of the woods and miles from town there was a sound that could be heard off deep into the forest. Its almost sounded human...almost. The horse began to kick and neigh until it released itself from captivity and galloped from the wagon and ran down the road, away from the carriage and them.
Emmeline woke from her sleep in a fright unsure of what was going on. She noticed the horse behaving strangely. She noticed Matthew attempting to wrangle the horse, but he failed and it moved quickly away, isolating them on the road. Emmeline held Matthews hand tightly, turning to and fro attempting to understand what was going on. For a moment there was complete silence an unnerving silence and not even the sound of crickets in the night air.
The silence was broken by a terrible scream that could be heard from the forest and it didn't take them long to realize it was the horse. They might have been unsure before, but they knew now, there was something out there and whatever it was killed the horse. With the horse gone and dead they were truly stranded.
Emmeline began to shake and the sound of the screaming horse was bouncing around in her head. She leaned in close and in a small whisper spoke, "I'm afraid Matthew."
Matthew nodded acknowledging her and her fear. But there was nothing he could do to ease it. The young man looked around and lit a torch handing it to Emmeline while he grabbed his loaded gun. He opened the barrel, 8 bullets. His heart began to beat quickly. Something moved across the road in front of them too quick for them to see. They knew it wasn't human, but it had the silhouette that vaguely resembled one.
Emmeline gasped and Matthew fired a shot. The bullet hit the dirt where the beast had been. Matthew mentally counted 7 more and he had two rounds in the shot gun. He gulped, his nerves beginning to wreak havoc on the state of his mind. He needed to keep her safe, that was all that mattered.
They heard a twig snap to their right and they both shot their heads over in the direction of the cracking noise. Emmeline waved the torch in an effort to scare away whatever was near them. A second later they heard a rustling from their left.
There had to be more than one, because these movements were too quick for one creature, right? Thought Emmeline. She began to pant and at the next movement she heard Matthew shoot his gun twice, 5.
It was quiet for a few seconds and all that could be heard was their breathing and the cracking fire from the torch.
The next second the creature jumped out pushing Matthew out of the wagon. When he fell to the dirt, his hand smacked against a rock and the gun went flying. There was a moment of shock as Matthew stared up at the thing. Matthew was feeling weaker and more feeble the longer he was pinned down by the creature. He could feel himself fading. Then nothing.
As this was happening, Emmeline was in shock, she couldn't even scream out. To call the creature a human would be a stretch. The creature had more of an appearance of a corpse. The beast's skin was pulled taut over it's bones. The creature was emancipated with a hungry look it's lethal black eyes. Blood was dripping down its mouth and it had jagged teeth meant to tear into flesh. The limbs of the beast were oddly long and ill proportioned. The beast has blood on its hands and long claws. The creature was the embodiment of horror and fear.
As Emmeline watched it tackle Matthew she noticed a light being drawn from his mouth into the creatures. The fear that was all consuming dissipated when Matthew was in trouble. She quickly reached into the back of the wagon and pulled out the shot gun. It was already loaded. She pointed the gun at the beast and fired. The creature turned and faced her and it almost looked like it grinned. Emmeline let out a deep breath to focus and fired again this time into the face of the beast. it screeched a loud ear piecing scream. After the second shot it moved towards the forest and away from Matthew.
Emmeline let out a sigh of relief and then hopped off the wagon dropping the now empty shotgun. She ran over to Matthew kneeling next to him setting down the torch. He was alive, but barely. Emmeline noticed the chunk out of his neck that was missing. The beast had bitten Matthew and with the amount of blood flowing and spurting from the wound, she knew he didn't have long.
Mathew's eyes fluttered. He noticed Emmeline kneeling over him. He wanted to say "I love you."
But nothing came out, Emmeline didn't hear it, but she could see it in his eyes. She began to cry out as her heart was breaking. She heard a noise in the forest. She thought that she had scared it away. Emmeline reached over and grabbed the gun that Matthew had dropped. She held the gun up ready to shoot when she had a shot. What emerged from the forest was not the beast.
It was Mr. Williams. He grinned. Emmeline held up the gun it was shaking in her hand. "Stay back or I'll shoot." Emmeline called out. Hoping the man would heed her word. How was he here she thought? The beast?
Mr. Williams grin became larger showing his jagged teeth. Emmeline's eyes widened when she realized that the beast and Mr. Williams were the same. She gripped the gun with her dominant hand and with her off hand she used it to steady the gun. She unloaded 4 bullets into Mr. Williams. He was still standing, black ooze flowing from the wounds similar to tar.
"Well damn, look what you did. You ruined this body! But never mind, I'll take care of that later." He said as he looked over his human body. Then he brought up his eyes and met Emmeline's, "Dear, I told you, you are mine and besides your family has already blessed our union." He paused and took a couple steps forward, "If I'm correct, you have one more bullet in that gun. And clearly shooting me isn't working. Why don't you be an obedient little girl and put the gun down."
Emmeline shook her head and briefly looked at Matthew was was barely breathing. She held his hand in her hand, "He is my heart, body, and soul." Emmeline turned the gun on herself. "I don't know what you are or why you want me, but rest assured I will never be yours. EVER." As she pulled the trigger, Mr. Williams leapt forward and before the bullet could leave the chamber. There was a flash of a vibrant green light. The bullet hit a nearby tree and the gun dropped to the ground.
Mr. Williams looked around, but there was nothing. Where in the hell was she? He let out a frustrated cry and began the trip back to his estate. He walked in the front door and was surprised to see Henry still sitting there.
Mr. Williams smiled. Perfect.
Henry watched as he removed his jacket and it was then that he saw the bullet wounds, "Sir, are you okay?" Henry called out standing and moving quickly to the man's side.
"I will be, your darling sister ruined this body and I need a new one. You will do just fine." Mr. Williams smacked his lips.